These people said they stood up at Christie’s events trying to set him off, with a sign or a shout or an irritating question. That’s because, to them, the governor’s tough-guy temper is not a strength but a vulnerability. They wanted to maneuver Christie into an outburst, so they could turn the spotlight onto themselves.
“From a campaign standpoint, we could not have gotten a better response from the governor,” said Jim Keady, whom Christie berated in late October.
Keady had wanted to draw attention to homes that have still not been rebuilt after Sandy, despite a massive state-run aid program. So he challenged Christie at a public event in Belmar. And the governor did the job for him.
Christie launched into an angry tirade that ended with him telling Keady to “sit down and shut up!” By that night, pundits were wondering whether Christie could control his temper and Keady was live on MSNBC.
Christie has said these exchanges happen, in part, because he puts himself in front of voters so often.
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